In a bid to facilitate small income tax payer, the government has set up 321 Help Centres across the country for filing tax returns.

Announcing this, the Central Board of Direct Taxes Chairperson M H Kherawala told reporters that the centres would charge no fees from the tax payers for filing returns.

There would be atleast one Help Centre under every Direct Tax Commissionerate and the centres are set up outside Income Tax Offices, chambers of commerce and Chartered Accountants offices.

"All informations to be provided free of cost and no small fee will be charged by the centres for helping in filing tax returns," she said.

These centres have stared functioning from June 15. The facility will be available till August 15 and then for one month from March 1-31, she said.

The Help Centres were first started last year. The last date for filing return is July 31.

The were 2.64 crore income tax assesses who filed returns last year and the government has targeted 15 per cent incremental growth every year.

This year the government expected number of persons filing income tax return to go up in the face government's two -pronged strategy, she said.

As per the strategy all the partnership firms are required to file returns irrespective of profit or loss. It is also mandatory for all those who get income beyond threshold limit of Rs one lakh for men, Rs 1.35 lakh for women and Rs 1.85 lakh for senior citizens to file income tax returns.

For implementing this strategy necessary amendments have been made in the Income Tax Act.